NU's Aroga named UAAP Player of the Week

ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines -- Alfred Aroga of National University (NU) was chosen as the UAAP Press Corps-Accel Quantum Plus/316 Player of the Week following his scintillating performance against the University of the East (UE) last Sunday.

But for the 6-foot-7 Cameroonian said he could have not done it without his team’s help.

“As far as I'm concerned, I can't talk like an individual player because everything that matters is the team,” said Aroga, “We're just playing as a team and we don't care about our stats. We just care about helping each other being better.”

Aroga came through on both ends as the Bulldogs escaped the Red Warriors, 57-55, to grab the solo lead with a 5-1 record.

The Cameroonian center buried the Bulldogs' final bucket with over two minutes left, before coming up with a defensive gem by forcing UE guard Roi Sumang to miss a driving layup that could have extended the game.

Aroga finished with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds on top of two assists and a block.

“He gives us that inside presence, especially in rebounding,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano. “He gave us 15 rebounds. More than the points, his rebounds are very important.”

Aroga also had 10 boards to go with six points, three assists and six of the team's 10 blocks in the Bulldogs' 37-point crushing of the Adamson Falcons, 62-25, last Wednesday.

“I just did my best in trying to execute what coach wanted me to do,” said Aroga.